There are just a few weeks left to submit your session to speak at this year’s Security Congress. The 10^th annual conference will be held November 16 – 18, 2020 at the Hyatt Regency Orlando in Orlando, Florida. If you’ve never spoken at Security Congress – or any conference – before, you may not be sure where to start when it comes to your speaker submission. We’ve compiled five tips to help you write a great speaker submission and increase your chances of being selected!

1. No pitches!

We don’t accept any marketing or product pitch type of submissions. It’s ok if you have a preference for a particular tool or program that you want to share, but that can’t be the focus of your session, especially if you work for that company.

2. Security is hard to “get right”

Your audience – first our review panel, and then (if you are chosen) Security Congress attendees – know this. Explore the “whys” in your session and dive deeper into your subject matter. We’ve all heard “it’s not if you’re breached, but when,” so try to stay away from the tropes of cybersecurity. The audience is experienced and educated, so find a fresh approach to material you have perhaps seen in the past. Talking about first-hand experiences or case studies is a great way to make a topic new for attendees. They want to hear from practitioners who can share their failures and successes with their peers.

3. Everything is insecure!

Don’t lean on FUD (fear, uncertainty and doubt). You’re talking to the wrong crowd! Attendees know that products can be misconfigured, security won’t be “baked in” sometimes, there won’t be enough budget and then someone just drops the ball. Find a more interesting approach than Chicken Little and provide solutions and recommendations – not just scare tactics.

4. Politics and humor are not one size fits all

Feel free to express yourself in your sessions. Personality makes for a great speaker, but please keep in mind that your opinions and humor may not match up with all attendees. Sessions at Congress are peer reviewed, so if you want to speak again, make sure your audience is getting the most of out of your presentation and are not distracted by a potentially off-color joke.

5. Security is about the journey, not the destination

Ok, I couldn’t resist one trope here. There is no single “solution” to cybersecurity. We’re not going to protect everything, dust off our hands and head home without a care. The Security Congress theme is Enrich. Enable. Excel. So keep those three tenets in mind for your session.

Hopefully these tips will guide you in your submission process. The deadline is March 22, so submit today and share your expertise with thousands of your colleagues at Security Congress this November.